We’re talking about Bratz dolls. Remember those? They were the anti-Barbie: the leather pants, heavy morning after the night before makeup, come hither look giving bad influence. Some parents called them “tarty”, experts in child rearing called them dangerous and probable rods of ‘sexualisation.’ Meanwhile university students rolled them into the essay that they were writing about raunch culture.
And then they kind of went away, as hit toys tend to do (apologies to all the starved Tamagotchis out there) and we went back to the grim fact that Barbie’s unrealistic proportions inspire lower self-esteem in young girls.
However a Tasmanian woman is bringing back Bratz dolls, but in a totally new and wholesome way (you can breathe out now, parents of young children).
On her Tumblr, Tree Change Dolls, the artist gives the dolls a ‘make-under’, stripping off their caked on makeup and giving them clothes that they could actually run around and play in (um, if they weren’t dolls).
Overalls and tyre swing, much more fun! Image via treechangedolls.tumblr.com
The artists writes of her project,
“These dolls have been rescued and rehabilitated from op-shops and tip shops around Tasmania. These lil fashion dolls have opted for a “tree change”, swapping high-maintenance glitz ‘n’ glamour for down-to-earth style. I hand repaint the dolls faces, mold new shoes, and my Mum sews and knits their clothing.”
It’s a super swell idea. Especially if you agree with feminist Simone de Beauvoir who once said,
“The little girl cuddles her doll and dresses her up as she dreams of being cuddled and dressed up herself; inversely, she thinks of herself as a marvellous doll.”
And if you’re going to be a doll, you might as well be one that can jump and swing and doesn’t have to worry about all of that makeup.
Images via treechangedolls.tumblr.com, see more here
